Plant for concrete construction



I. S. WILLIAMS.

PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTIUN. l APPLICATION FILED IAN. 22, I9I3. 1,349,992, atented Aug., 17, 192() 6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. S. WILLIAMS. PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22| I9I3 I 1,349,992. Ptllted Allg. 17, 1920.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, WILLIAMS.

PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED IAII. 22, I9I3.

a-tnted Ang i72 1920e 6 SHEETSr-SHEET 3.

II IlTVI "II/I WI II l )I I I I /W/ MII ///////\\I IIIIa IIlH//y/ e ,////\A II I J. S. WILLIAMS.

PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCHON.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 22, I9I3I 6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

1,849,992imma Aug. I7, ma.

I. S'. WILLIAMS. PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 22| |913.

I. S. WILLIAMS.

PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. ZZ, 1913. 1,849,992,

TNYYI es@ @5 l /I my S7' 1 @j f /1, Xg@ 0%, mM/MIM mm @pl/rf 4 PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH STOKES WILLIAMS, OF RIVERTON, NEW JERSEY.

PLANT FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Specoationref Iietters yatent.

Patented Aug. 17, V1920.

Application led January 22, 1913. Serial No. 743,431.

To all ifi/wm t may concern Be it known that I, Josera SroKEs VIL- LIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Riverton, in the county of Burlington, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Plant for Concrete Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

My'present invention consists of a novel plant which is specially designedy for use in building' up of concrete constructions which are thereafter floated or otherwise transported into position to be established upon a foundation of any desired type, and my novel plant is designed to eventually be employed as a. connecting link with tunnel or subway lines, if desired.

It further consists of a novel method of constructing such plant and a novel manner of sealing the passageways thereto whereby the construction built up within the plant may be transported therefrom through such passageways.

lt further consists of a novel construction and arrangement of floatable closures, the floatability of which may be varied, and novel means for sealing the` closures in position in the passageways.

Further objects and purposes of my invention will more clearly hereinafter appear in the detailed description.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings, certain forms thereof which are at present preferred by me, since the same will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure l represents a perspective view of a plant for concrete constructions embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of another embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 3 represents a perspective view, partly in section, of the plant showing the waterway connection and a tunnel section in flota.- tion within the plant.

Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of another embodiment of mv invention, showing anothermanner of establishing the plant in position in the Waterway.

Fig. 5 represents a sectional plan view of the plant as connected with a subway line.

Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of the plant as connected with a tunnel line and forming a portion thereof.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings The term concrete, as used herein, is intended to be broadly construed as covering concrete of any desired nature with any desired reinforcement, the nature of which latter varies widely in practice in accordance with the conditions and requirements of each case.

The walls of the plant may be constructed in any desired manner and, as seen in Fig. l, comprise a rear wall l, side walls 2 and 3, and a front wall 4, which latter is provided with a passageway 5 therethrough, `which is sealed when desired l v means of a removable closure 6, internally chambered in any desired manner. After the walls are laid, the space between is excavated to a desired grade, and the foundation bed is reinforced to any desired supporting capacity. The walls of the plant or the reinforcements thereof may be extended to any desired depth below the foundation bed in order to prevent any possibility of undercutting. rlhe walls of the plant may extend to any desired height above the water level to secure the same from flooding, and a working platform or wharf floor 7, see Figs. 3 and 6, which will cover the construction either wholly or in part, and this working platform may consist of tracks supported over the plant adapted to carry any desired apparatus, such as conveying, hoisting or other mechanism, employed in the construction of different parts of the work. The walls of the plant may be surrounded, if desired, by piling 8, within which is a desired number of layers of sheet piling 9. 7Within the sheet piling 9, the walls of the plant are preferably formed of structural metal l0 embedded in concrete ll and lined with a metal reinforced waterproof layer 12, it being understood that the foundation or floor part is waterproofed and reinforced in a similar manner, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 5. The foundation floor 13 is formed preferably by reinforcing the bed with piling or ballast or both which is rendered waterproof and united in waterproof union with the Side walls of the plant, so that when the passageway has been sealed by the removable closure 6, any leakage of water into the plant will be prevented, and when the water y, is pumped out, al di'ydock is formed for con struction purposes. lhen the plant is constructed along tide water, the tide itself, in some cases, is siiilicient to drain the water from the dock but in the majority ofV cases, it is essential to provide means for withdrawing water from the dock and to provide a sul'licient depth of channel in the floatable portion of thewaterway for the lai'gest construction to be made therein. In Fig. lock gatos 1-l 'are shown adapted to open outwardly, but I preferably employ novel means for controlling the passageways consisting of a tloatable closure, such as G, provided with a desired number of conduits '15, see Figs. 1 and 2, whereby fluid or other ballasting material may be passed into the interior of the closure to vary the floatability thereof. One advantageous manner of doing this is to admit water into the chamber of the closure in order to sink the same in alined position between lthe walls of the passageway and when it is desired tov remove the closure,

this water may be removed by any desired type of pumping apparatus or by forcing any desired fluid or gas into the closure in a water tight seal to seal the walls of the y closure and the walls of the passageway, either the walls of the closure oi' the walls of the passageway are chambered or recessed in order to receive packing material of any desired nature which will form a watertight seal. at such point. One simple and economical manner of doing` this is by the employment of one or more inflatable tubes or series of tubes 1G adapted to be inflated or deflated, any well known means being provided, for example, any desired fluid under pressure, such as gas, air or water. rlhese tubes are made of any desired material which is suitable for sealing the surfaces with which they contact and suchV vmaterial is preferably capable of compression inorder to increase its elasticity and coiitrollability as a sealing medium. In order to illustrate one manner of sealing passageways, yI lhave illustrated three sets of these tiibes,two sets being shown at the side Vof the closure, and the third set in proximity to the end of the closure. As will. be understood by reference to Fig. 2, the plant maybe provided with any desired number of partitions 17, and any desired lnumber of scalable passageways whereby the constructions built up in one compartment may be `floated or otherwise transported therefrom without effecting the constructions which are being .built in Vanother compartment..

Vtion on the cradles ln Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown differentV types of construction, such as for example,

` varied, and l have also shown floatablesupports 21, which are adapted to be connected with the cradles 18 in case the saine are not floatable in themselves, whereby such cradles may be floated into position. The members 21 are provided with controllable conduits 22, in order that the floatability thereof may be varied. 23 and 24C designate other types of reinforced Vconcrete construction which may be built up within the plant. The walls of the plant are especially' adapted to form a connecting link with the passageway, suoli as a tunnel line 25, see Fig. 6, or a subway 26, see Fig. 5, or with conduits of any desired nature. The cradles 18 correspond to the cradles 18 seen in Fig. 6, where they are shown as forming a part of the foundation bed of the tunnel. The foundation bed for such purpose is dredged to a desired grade and then reinforced along its length to any desired extent. Foundation piers-or reinforcements may-be constructed at predetermined intervals or with continuous lengths preferably between alining members, such as piling 27 or guide members, floatable if desired, so that the cradles, in case such are used, may be floated into position over a reinforced bed and dropped into alined position thereon or on the piers. .Such cradles or reinforcements may be provided with chambers or cells so that when sunk to position, they may be filled with conci-cte or ballast, or the cradles may be self sinkable andL transported into position by detachable floats, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 1. The tunnel sections, such as 19 or 23, or'conduits constructed within the plant are preferably provided with removable closures at their ends and the'floatability of the structures may be vai'ied or maintained, as desired, by the in-i sertion of fluid of any desired nature through the conduits provided for such purpose, and the ends the floatable structures are preferably adapted to interlock or provided with interlocking means. Whensuch` Astructures have been floated throughrtheV passageway of the plant and sunk into posioi reinforced bed, they will automatically aline and interlock with each other,after which they may be covered with ballast or other filling, as `will be understood by reference to Fig.- 6.

lt also within the scope of my invention to construct theplant at one location and then float the same into position in the inanner illustrated in Figura, wherein 28 desigates parallel rows of piling between which the plant 29 is to be located. The plant 29 is provided with controllable conduits 3.0,;

manner to that seen in Fig. 5.

whereby its floatability may be varied and its end 3l is formed to interlock with reinforced concrete construction of any desired natuie. designates the passage in which the sub y connection is to be built up and united i with the plant structure in a similar After the plant has been permanently located to form a connecting link with tra'liic and transportation systems, such as subway, tunnel and surface lines of transportation, the passageway, such as 5, is sealed preferably with a reinforced concrete construction, extending above the water line to any desired height and any desired number of lioors may be established having communication therebetween, such as passageways and elevators, in order to provide coimnunicationbetween the upper floor and the tunnel and subway lines, the upper licor being preferably in communication with surface traffic lines.

ln accordance with my present invention, provide novel means for enabling the construction of reinforced concrete structures,

'A such plant being adapted to be located at any. desired point as a permanent part of the work and to be united with the construction, such as tunnel and subway lines, when such lines are complete.

It will now be apparent that I have de-v vised a n vel and useful construction of a plant for concrete.constructions, which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while l have, in the present instance, shown and described preferred embodiments thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y l. A plant of the character stated, comprisin@1 a plurality of juxtaposed chambers in the earth bed extending below the water level, watertight walls about said chambers, and walls separating the chamber, said chamber having passageways for waterway communication for each of said chambers, reinforced cementitious foundation floors in cach of said chambers, in combination with the earth bed thereunder, means to open and close each of the passageways of said chambersto place said chambers in or out of open communication with a waterway as required,

working` platforms along the sides of the walls of said chambers, and workingplatforms and equipments about the upper part of walls, a subway passage extending from one or more of said chambers into shore, and means to open and close said' subway` 2. A construction of the character stated, comprising a chambercd concrete construction in the earth mainly below water level, and in communication with a waterway having a passageway through the walls of such construction to such waterway, a subway tunnel passage through another portion of said walls to shore, and means to el'l'ect the opening or watertight closure of the passageway.

3. A plant of the character stated, comprising waterproofed reinforced concrete waterproof walls extending from the foundation to above the water line and into the earth bed, and having a platform supported on said walls and having a passageway through one of said walls in water communication, a subway line in communication with said walls, a floatable and sinkable closure for said passageway, forming with the walls thereof chambers, and sealing means within said chambers.

t. A plant of the character stated, comprising walls extending into the foundation bed, and an intermediate wall forming a plurality of watertight compartments, each compartment having a passageway therefrom, a floatable and sinkable closure for each passageway, means to vary the iioatability of each closure, and means to seal each closure in its respective passageway.

5. A plant of the character stated, comprising a reinforced concrete foundation floor, reinforced concrete outer walls extending into the foundation bed, the reinforcements of which are in union with the reinforcements of a reinforced concrete foundation floor, inner walls in structural and cementitious watertight union with the side walls and forming therewith a plurality of independent chambers, each having a passageway therefrom, and independent means to seal each passageway, whereby each chamber is rendered watertight.

6. A plant of the character stated, comprising waterproofed reinforced concrete walls having a passage therethrough in communication with a waterway, a piled and ballasted foundation bed capped with a foundation Hoor of reinforced concrete extending in structural, cementitious, and waterproof union with said walls, and means to seal said passageway.

7. A plant of the character stated, comprising walls of waterproofed reinforced concrete having a passageway therethrough in communication with a waterway, a piled and ballasted foundation bed, a reinforced concrete floor on said bed in structural reinforced and cementitious union with said walls, a working plat-form located above said bed, and means to seal said passageway.

8. r plant of the character stated, comprising waterproofed, reinforced concrete side Walls extending beneath the foundation hed to prevent undereutting, a waterprooiied reinforced concrete 'foundation Hoor united with said Walls, one of said side Walls having passage therethrough in communication with a watervmy, a Werking platform above said Hoor, and ineans to open and close said passage.

9. A plant of the character Stated, in combination with a subway line opening into it, and means to Close said subway line to prevent water passing from the plant into it. v

10. A. plant of the character' Stated, in combination With a subway line opening l5 into it and having its Walls in Waterproof union with the Walls of the plant;

JOSEPH STOKES VILLIAlVIS.

Witnesses H. S. FAmBANKs, C. D. MCVAY. 

